Frederick Colyer: A Bit Of Genealogy Karma (52 Ancestors #11)

Frederick Colyer was my 2nd great grandfather. Born in Kent, England Novenber 4, 1847 to Frederick Henry Colyer and Ann Pritchard Colyer. Frederick was the middle child, second of three children, two boys and a girl.

Now I don't pretend to know what life in England was like in the mid-1800's, but for some unexplained reason Frederick decided to leave England and head for America as a young man of 22.

In the spring of 1870 Frederick traveled to London and boarded the ship the New World bound for America. Listed as a passenger in steerage, Frederick arrived in New York June 21, 1870 to begin his new life. It is unclear as to whether he traveled alone or with companions, but I do know that his entire family stayed behind in England.

Listed as a bricklayer by trade, I'm sure the job prospects were good for a young immigrant in the later part of the 1800's. Cities were being established, the railroads were being built, America was growing and needed good skilled men to fuel the growth.

Frederick finds his way to Chicago sometime prior to 1872, where he meets and marries my 2nd great grandmother, Ann Sammon, on September 13, 1872.

It is unclear as to whether Frederick was in Chicago prior to the Great Fire, but I would suspect that if not, he arrived shortly after. Chicago needed all the skilled bricklayers they could find to help rebuild the city devastated by fire.

Frederick and Ann would go on to have two children, a son and a daughter.

Their son, Henry, died at the age of 20. Ten years later Frederick lost his wife, Ann.

Frederick's golden years were spent in the residence of his daughter and son-in-law, finally joining his wife on February 19, 1928 at the respectable age of 80.

From left to right:
Standing: Margaret Colyer Irons, Frederick Colyer,
 Agnes Irons (granddaughter), Harry Irons (grandson)
Seated: William Irons (Margaret's husband)

The interesting aside to this story is that for years no one knew who Frederick's parents were. When I started my investigation into my family, my knowledge of Frederick's lineage was zero. I posted a Family Tree to OneWorldTree (a very incorrect tree, I might add, it has since been deleted). And that was that.

For a while.

One day I received an email from a man in England who had been looking for Frederick. He was a Colyer, descended from our mutual 4th great grandfather. He was tracing the family and was always stumped as to what has happened to Frederick. All he knew was Frederick got on a ship headed to America in 1870.  It puzzled and frustrated him not knowing Frederick's fate.

Then he came across my Tree.

For several weeks we emailed back and forth furiously. I supplied him with the information I had and he supplied me with the MOTHERLOAD of family tree research I would never be able to accomplish without an extended trip to England, and the seasoned knowledge of exactly where to look. He has been compiling family history for years. I now had parts of Frederick's lineage going back to 1515! With sources!

A magical day in the pursuit of genealogy, to be sure. A rare and glorious encounter.

One of those things we all secretly wish for when we post our trees for "cousin bait".

I have not has such a windfall of success since that time, but I have been able to 'pay it forward' here and there with other parts of my family tree. To enlighten others in some small ways, the way I was so blessed to have experienced.

Whatever possessed Frederick Colyer to leave his home and family so long ago, he was finally reunited 140 years later. The world just got a wee bit smaller.

Ann Sammon Colyer: So Much Conflicting Information! (52 Ancestors #10)

Anna J "Jennie" Sammon(s) Colyer was my 2nd great grandmother. And yet another female ancestor I know little about. There is a massive amount of conflicting information surrounding her and her siblings. I have attempted to sort it out to the best of my knowledge. But it is still terribly confusing! Let the blogging begin!!

Quebec, Vital and Church Records
 (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967

Jennie Sammon was born in Quebec, Canada in 1853, maybe. I have found conflicting records to this end. Her baptism says 1853, her death record says 1857. I chose to go with the baptism record date for the time being. She was the second of seven children.

Her parents were Thomas Sammon and Mary Catherine O'Rourke, maybe. Again, conflicting information on the baptism and the death record. The death record lists Anna Dunn as her mother. Catherine Dunn was her paternal grandmother, and Anna McLingin was her maternal grandmother, according to other sources. I do not know who the informant was for the death record information. Other siblings have similar conflicting information reported on various records. Again, I chose to go with the baptism record for the time being.

Jennie lived in Quebec until at least 1869. Jennie and her family must have immigrated to America from Canada after 1869, but prior to 1872. Her father is listed in  the Quebec city directories through 1866, but I find no record of him in either Canada or America again until his death in Chicago, IL in 1873. The birth and/or death records of all of Jennie's siblings list Quebec, Canada as place of birth. Jennie's youngest sister was born in 1869. Maybe. (again, conflicting baptism/death info)

Jennie Married my 2nd great grandfather, Frederick Colyer, in Chicago IL Sept 13, 1872, definitely. Thank to Chicago IL for good record keeping, and the fact that the marriage happened after the Great Fire!

Jennie and Frederick had two children. Thomas Henry and Margaret. Margaret was my great grandmother. Jennie buried her son Thomas in 1897, he was only 20 years old. She lived long enough to see her daughter married and her two grandchildren born

Jennie died October 17, 1910. Leaving behind a  husband, a daughter and two grandchildren. She is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Evanston IL. From the burial card for the plot I have been able to piece together some of her extended family. I suspect that her grandmother Catherine was living in Chicago as early as 1850. It is quite possible that her mother may have died shortly after the birth of her last child, which lead her widowed father to emigrate to Chicago, employing his mother's help with his seven young children. This scenario makes some good sense and would explain the mix-up of Jennie's mother's name on the death record.

This is merely speculation at this point, further records need to be acquired, but it is making some solid sense and I thought I'd just put it out there. There was one other Sammon(s) living in Chicago at the time, this story might ring true for another descendent, or it might bring to light the reason for some of the conflicting information.

Wish I had a time machine!